Overview
In addition to our year-round open calls and grants, which support emerging and established artists working in contemporary art, below is a compiled list of reputable local, regional and international open calls, opportunities and residencies for artists and art practitioners. In keeping with Sharjah Art Foundation’s commitment to supporting the community, this reference tool, updated on a regular basis, includes grants, exhibitions and educational opportunities.
Open Call: Orbitals
Mophradat, Brussels
Deadline: 10 July 2023
Orbitals is a programme that takes four curators and arts researchers to an international location in the Global South to learn about a different artistic context than the ones they are familiar with and share their knowledge with their communities. During the one-week guided research trip, the participants, along with members of Mophradat’s team, meet and share experiences with peers from the art scenes they are visiting.
This year’s edition will be an introduction to the art scene in Dakar. The participants will travel together for a programme of meetings with artists and curators as well as visits to art organisations and initiatives. Mophradat will provide flights, travel insurance, accommodation and per diems, and reimburse visa costs. Applicants must be from or living in the Arab world.
https://mophradat.org/en/program/orbitals/
Urban Commissions
Dubai Design Week
Deadline: 15 July 2023
Dubai Design Week’s ninth edition (7–12 November 2023) will explore innovative design and how it plays a role in shaping the environment. Urban Commissions returns, awarding a designer, architect or studio an opportunity to produce innovative public furniture for the urban realm, using sustainable materials. The winning proposal will be granted a production budget of AED 120,000 to produce urban furniture to be unveiled at Dubai Design Week 2023.
https://www.dubaidesignweek.ae/open-calls-2023/
Outdoor Installations
Dubai Design Week
Deadline: 15 July 2023
Creatives are invited to submit a proposal for a captivating outdoor installation that will be showcased at Dubai Design District. Subsidies will be available for select proposals highlighting responsible design concepts. Design proposals should be innovative and incorporate sustainable and socially responsible materials in production.
https://www.dubaidesignweek.ae/open-calls-2023/
UAE Designer Exhibition
Dubai Design Week
Deadline: 31 July 2023
Designers, makers, artisans and independent design studios from different levels of expertise and career stage are invited to submit ideas and proposals under the theme of Future Living Spaces and encouraged to look beyond the traditional design process and consider their work’s broader social and environmental impacts.
https://www.dubaidesignweek.ae/open-calls-2023/
Art Time Residencies: Music
Mophradat, Brussels
Deadline: 23 July 2023
Mophradat is collaborating with MaerzMusik in Berlin on a new residency programme open to musicians, composers, producers, sound and interdisciplinary artists from or living in the Arab world to work collaboratively with the Berlin-based Ensemble Adapter on new work to be presented at MaerzMusik festival in 2024.
The residency takes place in Berlin and remotely. The invited resident will receive a monthly stipend for four-and-a-half months for the period in which they are in residence and conceiving a new work with Ensemble Adapter. The musician will be provided with a living and working space in Berlin during their on-site stays, access to various studios and sites, and be introduced to peers in the city. The residency will also cover the costs of return economy travel for both trips, visa and travel insurance, and the festival will provide the composer with a fee for the commission and concert.
https://mophradat.org/en/program/art-time-residencies/music/
Call for Submission: 20th Marrakech International Film Festival
Marrakech International Film Festival
Deadline: 28 July 2023
To be eligible for the Official Selection of the 20th Marrakech International Film Festival, films must have been completed during the 12 months preceding the festival (between November 2022 and November 2023).
The festival considers feature films (fiction, documentaries, animation and experimental films) with a minimum duration of 65 minutes but does not select short films.
The competition is exclusively reserved to international first and second feature films, presented in a MENA (Middle East and North Africa) premiere.
The other non-competitive sections are open to international films by upcoming or established
filmmakers, presented at least in a Moroccan premiere.
https://marrakech-festival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Reglement-et-inscription-FIFM-2023-ANG.pdf
Publishing Grant 2023
Sharjah Art Foundation
Deadline: 30 July 2023
The Publishing Grant invites project proposals from cultural producers, such as art and culture scholars, translators, writers, editors, independent publishers and publishing houses, collectives and non-profit institutions. We seek projects that contribute to the production of original ideas and critical thinking and that pursue an experimental and innovative approach to publishing.
Sharjah Art Foundation will provide a total of 30,000 USD to multiple grantees to support projects that stand out for their intellectual, graphic and material qualities. The requested grant amount per project must not exceed 15,000 USD.
https://sharjahart.org/sharjah-art-foundation/events/open-call-publishing-grant-2023
Artist-in-Residence Programme
Dastaangoi, Islamabad
Deadline: 15 August 2023
Dastaangoi’s second residency programme will operate in October 2023 in Islamabad on a 14 acre vineyard, farm and garden. Dastaangoi will offer artists a two-week residency with on-site accommodation and studio space. A programme of talks, workshops and other events will be run in collaboration with the residents to promote interaction and exchange of ideas both among the residents and with the wider community. The residency is open to visual, sculpture and new media artists.
https://dastaangoi.com/pages/dastaangoi-artist-residency-program
Gulf Capital ADMAF Creativity Award - Performing Arts
Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation
Deadline: 5 September 2023
The award recognises creative excellence among youth in the performing arts. Submissions are open to Emirati individuals and groups (with at least one Emirati member), who create an outstanding performance piece in the genre of music, dance or theatre. Finalists will have the exciting opportunity to perform before a live audience and compete for a 20,000 AED cash prize.
https://admaf.org/initiatives/awards/
The information shared here has been sourced from the online platforms of the listed institutions.